Oktoberfest and Diwali - it's a celebration showdown

Delhi has gone into party and celebration mode. Fireworks, lights, parties, festivities, sweets - it's a hive of activity. Not so long ago there was Dussehra (6 October), this is when (according to my trusty Wiki source), the harvest season begins so the Mother Goddess is invoked to start the new harvest season and reactivate the vigor and fertility of the soil. But here in Delhi they like fire and light so at the outdoor fairs and parades enormous effigies of Ravana (a mythical king of ancient Sri Lanka), his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghanad are burnt in the evening. We were attending a wedding so couldn't get amongst it but will mark it down for next year.

The good news for us is that after this celebration summer is also over and it's time to enjoy some winter weather and get ready for Diwali. Of course there is also a negative with this as it is also the time in Delhi where everyone gets sick - coughs, colds, fevers, dengue - you name it someone has it!  Good news is that the burning of the effigies (that are also filled with firecrackers containing phosphorus) supposedly purifies the atmosphere. I am not sure whether this is that effective but the air has certainly taken on a lovely smoky feel....

The temperatures are lovely though and Delhi days are hovering around 30/31 for the next 10 days which is very pleasant.

Around this time there is also the very important festival of Oktoberfest! No matter which country you are in everyone is keen to celebrate. So I headed off to the Americans baseball diamond to mark this important occasion. Beer, sausages, salads - it was all very German except perhaps the 80's/90's Top 40 cover band. There was a 'chugging' contest which was won by one incredible sculler..... amazingly fast. There was also a Stein comp, where you had to keep your arm straight holding a stein for as long as possible. Valiant effort by many but no one was ever going to beat the man who apparently can lock his elbow! The hostesses looked amazing.

Brilliant outfits!

Unfortunately my husband wasn't here for Oktoberfest, one of his favourite holidays, as he was off representing India in the Gaelic Footy Champs in Korea (of course I hear you say). Sad news is the 'Irish Wolfhounds' didn't win the comp but I think they had a damn fine time trying. There's always next year!!!

Of course it wouldn't be a week here without story of irritation. I went to bank a cheque for my husband today, easy job isn't it? Well I strolled into the bank and gave them the cheque and they refused to bank it as this cheque is made for Tom and my husband is not called Tom, he is called Thomas. But they are the same I said.... Tom Moody is Thomas Moody - the same (always try a cricket analogy). Well apparently not, they are different and I have to get my husband to write a note saying that they are intended for the same person..... I may just never bank these cheques.

Next stop here is Diwali (26 October) and everyone is very excited...... it's time for Diwali bonus, sweets, lights and a bucket load of firecrackers. Delhi is not the place to catch some rest over the next month or so. But what I am most looking forward to is my visitors....... bring it on!!!

Sari time

A few weeks ago we received our first invitation to a wedding since we have lived here in Delhi. It was for Slyvia and Solomon, Slyvia being the sister of a colleague of T's.

I was really looking forward to donning my first sari so headed into Old Delhi to buy one. Mel, Hannah and I went in search and found Bansal Saree Emporium in Kinari Bazaar. It was floor to ceiling packed with sari's of all colours and patterns!

Our friendly assistant pulled out sari after sari for us to look at and then we each selected a couple to try on. That's when the assistants got even friendlier!!!

I found a sari I liked and unsuccessfully tried to negotiate the price..... he didn't budge, I liked it, I bought.

After buying the sari I then went to Lodhi Colony main market and got my blouse and petticoat custom made, two days later I was all set for action!

Then yesterday the big day finally came for Slyvia and Solomon so T, S and I frocked up. I was wearing my new sari and T in his new favourite outfit - the Kurta pyjama. Just the idea of T getting to wear 'pyjama' to a formal event made him quite excited.

The wedding was to commence at 3.30pm so at 2.45pm Sheela (our cook) and Priya (our housekeeper) came over to assist in getting me into my sari. It took about 15 minutes and thankfully had the assistance of some pins! I felt a little strange but have to say quite like it.

The girls left and Priya went to get ready for the wedding at 3.15pm.... I started to get anxious we would be very late.... 3.30pm arrived, they hadn't ......3.45pm.... nothing so I called - yes yes maam we're coming.... (I am picturing a roll of the eyes down the line).  So at 4 pm we finally arrived for the 3.30pm wedding at Sacred Heart Cathedral and yes.... well we were about the only ones there. When will I learn, time means nothing in this town!!! Then at 4.30pm the bride arrives and we are ready for action.

The bride was lead down the aisle by heaps of family and friends, unlike at Christian weddings back home where someone gives the bride 'away' and she didn't look overjoyed by the whole occasion, which is also part of the deal I was told.

The service was obviously in Hindi which made it a bit tricky but S ran around the church, people came in and out, moved seats, chatted..... no one seemed to mind too much. Soon enough they were husband and wife, he removed the veil but no smooch :)

The bride and groom didn't leave the church straight away whereas most visitors took their leave. T,S and I were then summoned to the alter where we were to have some photos with the bride and groom. A little bit strange as I had never actually met either of them before but it was very nice.

Then we all exited the church to drums, dancing and much fanfare, S loved it (even being abducted by other guests - spot in video below)!!!

The band played, guests danced and many a rupee was thrown in the air in celebration!

We took our leave, took S home to bed and then returned at 8pm for the dinner. Now this is were you are on time apparently.... there is food, you are on time.

The tent was set up where all the food stations were and inside the bride and groom sat on the stage being congratulated by visitors and had their picture taken. The noise inside the hall battled with the noise of Dusshera fireworks lighting up the sky outside.

Sorry for blurred photo - taken on iPhone

We enjoyed some snacks of aloo kachori, deep fried potato covered in a chilli based sauce (with our without curd - your choice), Indian noodles (very spicy but very good), paneer curry, vege curries, naan, rice followed up with some ice-cream. We then talked with our friends for awhile before going into see the bride and groom who apparently have to sit on the stage for 2 - 3 hours!

After we paid our respects to the bride and groom it was time to go, the night dressed up in my a lovely sari was at an end. We thanked our host and entered the Delhi night leaving a wedding that was sure to go into the wee hours of the morning.

AFL in New Delhi

I love the Grand Final. It has always been a great day (ignoring St Kilda's recent appearances), especially in Melbourne where the whole town gets into the spirit and jumps on the band wagon of one team or another...... I was a bit keen to make sure that New Delhi captured a little bit of that feeling and celebrated the day so as to avoid those pangs of homesickness that can creep in around big occasions.

Well I need not have worried, Grand Final day was excellent here and the Aussie expat crowd all got in the swing of things, even those who didn't particularly like footy (unbelievable I know).

The festivities here kicked off at 9.30am, with bounce-down at 10am. The scene was set for a great day - bouncy castle and pottery making man for the kids, 'fair dinkum' Aussie pies, lamingtons and pavlovas from the Courtyard Marriott Gurgaon and the bar open for business.

No party is complete without a balloon arch ...

or a bouncy castle!

180 people turned up to enjoy the day, including members of a visiting U15's cricket team and the Ride2Rescue guys who are riding their bikes from London to Melbourne, a pretty amazing feat.

We had footy's to giveaway at half-time and everyone was enjoying an early morning sparkling or Coopers beer. There was even a chook raffle!

I have to say the pies were sensational and probably the highlight of the day ...



The pie...... YUM!

but the other brilliant element was that all these wonderful peeps, that are living so far from 'home', got together to celebrate a game of football over a pie and a beer - how Australian is that?

Oh and of course Geelong won which made the majority of the crowd very happy.

We are Geelong, the greatest team of all....................................... yes, yes you are!

Gaelic days

I have ignored my blogging duties but it's been crazy busy, the weather has been getting better everyday, the rain has stopped and the mossies are biting!

One of the main events recently was the inaugural Tadhg Kenelly Cup. The TK Cup, as it is affectionately known, was the first Australian vs the Irish Gaelic game in Delhi. The Aussies turned up in bright yellow Sarojini sourced tee's while the Irish looked just a touch more professional. However uniforms mean nothing when it comes to football (the Dockers have proved that....oh hold on a minute).

It was an early start for all the lads and ladies and it was stinking hot! Everyone took the field and did their absolute best to beat the heat. I have never watched Gaelic before and I thoroughly enjoyed the game and was glad I wasn't playing, instead just sipping my latte on the sidelines. It did take awhile to get used to watching the round ball be kicked and marked and not sure I'll ever get used to that however the element that was familiar was the occasional unfriendly elements of the 'friendly' game.

Some pics from the day:

Fierce contest!

Ruck or netball?

Some very amused Mali's

Exhausted team at half time

 At half time there was some confusion over the score and a mild disagreement, a resolution was found.... and play continued.

After the game there was thankfully consensus on the score and the Aussies took the chocolates, 26-25, don't get much closer than that do you?

After the game.... all friends again

Captain receiving the trophy

The winning team!

The not so winning team but happy with the result none the less, except for perhaps the man on the end?

Following the game we all moved on to watch the Rugby World Cup together but we're not talking about that game here.

Monsoon river

Today it pelted down and the roads again turned to rivers (and carparks). It is chaos our there!!!!

On the way to Safdarjung Enclave today

This is the same road yesterday getting ready for a parade. Decorated horses, bands and floats taking up half the road.  Never dull.

Same road yesterday

Big day in Delhi

So yesterday was a big day here in the capital....

Sadly at 10.15 am a bomb went off at the High Court and 12 people have died and many more injured. I have driven past the High Court a number of times and, like most places in Delhi, it is manically busy, especially at this hour of the morning. Can't imagine the scenes there, it must of been insane.

As a result of the bomb we were advised to all stay indoors and not go anywhere near India Gate or the High Court, obviously not big on my tour list yesterday anyway. So it was a quiet day watching the news and hearing of all the tragic loss.

Last night T and I then headed out to dinner at Kylin in Basant Lok. We had a really nice relaxed night but obviously talked alot about what had happened during the day. Maybe as a result of the days events, the restaurant was completely empty so we had all 15 odd staff to ourselves. I highly recommend the wok fried caramelised prawns..... yum! When we left we saw the shopping centre plastered with paper posters of the two suspects.... not sure if this will do the job but I hope so.

We got home about 10pm and went straight to bed only to be shaken awake at 11.30pm by the earthquake. I have never been in an earthquake before and it is damn frightening! The whole room shook and I shook awake my husband who promptly went back to sleep. He is amazing when it comes to sleep - nothing will interrupt it. It only lasted 6-7 seconds but it felt like a hell of a lot longer. I went straight to Twitter where the occurrence of an earthquake was confirmed for me and then Facebooked a couple of buddies. It was originally thought to be 6.6 on the Richter scale but turned out to be 4.2. I'm glad, 4.2 was enough and I am very scared to think what would happen to this city if a bad earthquake came, no one is prepared.

So by contrast today was quiet and happily nothing of note occurred......suits me fine.  

Tripping around Old Delhi

10am Saturday morning and T and I found ourselves at Chawari Metro Station ready to dive into the spaghetti lane ways that make up Old Delhi. Dhruv Gupta, from Masterji kee Haveli, was our guide for the day and had promised to explain some vegetarian street food to us and show us some of the tucked away parts of the city.

We started the journey in the Hindu part of Old Delhi near Chawari Metro. It was pretty quiet for this time of the morning except for a few food vendors. We stopped at our first street side food stand and tried the Kachori with a chickpea curry. It was definitely a bit on the spicy side for this time of the morning but this small meal could keep you going all day. These kachori's were thick, dense little morsels which had been deep fried in oil. It was full on flavour! This small snack would be enough to keep you going for ages!

Popular Kachori stand

Chatting to a local Kachori lover. Photo by D Gupta

A close up of the chickpea curry

After this we moved further into the rabbit warren of Old Delhi and watched all the morning vendors selling their fresh fruit and veges (or big bags of rice) and dodged the local goats. 

Crazy goats. Photo by D Gupta

Catwalk style! Photo by D Gupta

One of the great things about exploring an area with someone who lives there is you get to see things that you would normally just pass by. On this walk we saw Sultan Raziya's Tomb which is tucked down a tiny little alley in the middle of dense housing and a mosque that had been around since the 1300's. We climbed to the roof of the mosque and watched boys flying kites and pigeon callers spending the morning setting their pigeons free and calling them back. Old Delhi looks pretty amazing from the roof tops.

Kalan Mosque

Our friendly guide......  Photo by D Gupta

Top of the mosque. Photo by D Gupta

The next stop was a small Hindu temple that when you entered had the main bell at the reception but was then full of 85 bells that were busy being rung by devotees, what an amazing sound.

Hindu temple of 85 bells.   Photo by D Gupta

After visiting the temple we discovered a small school with the cutest group of children soaking up knowledge.... they were super cute and welcomed us into their classroom with a big hello!!!!

Then it was time for sweets and sweet it was. We met a gorgeous old man who was sitting patiently by his boiling milk watching the world go by. He sold us some delicious milk cakes. They were very good but so sweet you would be doing well to eat the whole thing.

And then to cement the sweetness we tried some Mango Kulfi. I really liked this, I love mango and it was so deliciously cool on the hot Delhi day.

Mango Kulfi. Photo by D Gupta

Then it was time for brunch at the Gupta's beautiful haveli. The Gupta's haveli is a four storey home with a central courtyard surrounded by rooms. I love type of home and it is perfect for this climate. The central well lights up the house but it is also very cool inside, and when it rains they can enjoy this as well. On arrival we enjoyed a fantastic fresh lime soda.

Inside Masterji kee Haveli

We went right up to the roof and looked at their beautiful view across Old Delhi and also had our turn at flying a kite (it's harder than it looks!).

Kite flying is very difficult!

Then it was lunch time! Mrs Gupta had made a fantastic meal. Home made pickles and  freshly cooked Poori to accompany our meal. There was a cauliflower curry and a yummy dahl. We then devoured her rose kulfi. I was so full I thought I might pop but it was delicious.

Brunch time. Photo by D Gupta

Photo by D Gupta

Our generous hosts

After a well earned rest and a chat with our generous hosts we hit the streets again. For this part of the walked up to Jama Masjid and witnessed the general madness of this town.... kids hanging off rickshaws, overturned rickshaws and the odd altercation!

School bus

Whoops!

We walked through the firecracker sellers area and into the jewellery section of Old Delhi and had a little play with some jewels! Don't worry there was absolutely no pressure to buy, Mr Gupta is good friends with the owners and it was good fun but T looked a bit nervous .....

T looking nervous!Photo by D Gupta

Which one should I choose..........Photo by D Gupta

Following the jewellery store we walked the alleyways of Old Delhi, turned down Paratha Gali

Paratha Gali

and into the most colourful alleyways of Sari's, jewels, lace - amazing! You can get anything you need here and a bit more food!

More food! Photo by D Gupta

It was a great day with Mr Gupta. We walked, ate and talked for about 4 hours and it was a really great was to experience Old Delhi. One of the nicest things about this walk is it is flexible. You can guide it by your interests and try or not try what you like and no we didn't get sick.

Masterji kee Haveli

Cost and Inclusions

Rs 2000 per person 1-4 number of guests

Rs 1750 per person 5-8 number of guests
Rs 1500 per person 9-16 number of guests

The price includes the following:

Food oriented bazaar walk, some street food tasting for those who feel adventurous, all ingredients, visit to haveli, brunch and bottled water.

Phone: +91 9810 750 217